Yakov Fedotovich Pavlov (; 17 October 191728 September 1981) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

soldier who became a

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

for his role in defending the eponymous "

Pavlov's House Pavlov's House ( tr. ''Dom Pavlova'') was an apartment building converted into a fortified position, which Red Army defenders held for around 60 days against the ''Wehrmacht'' offensive during the Battle of Stalingrad. The siege lasted from 2 ...

" during the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

Early life

Pavlov was born in 1917 to a peasant family in the small village of Krestovaya in northwestern Russia (present-day

Novgorod Oblast Novgorod Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, including Veliky Novgorod and Staraya Russa, are located in the oblast. The historic m ...

Military career

Pavlov joined the

in 1938. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he fought on the Southwestern,

Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

, 3rd Ukrainian and 2nd Belorussian fronts. Pavlov was a commander of a machine gun unit, an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

man, and a commander of a

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

unit with the rank of senior sergeant. During the

, on the night of 27 September 1942, Pavlov's

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

recaptured a four-story residential building from the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

, and defended it against continual attack by the Germans until relieved by advancing Soviet forces two months later.

Vasily Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (, ; – 18 March 1982) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is best known for commanding the 62nd Army which saw heavy combat during the Battle of Stalingrad in the Second World War ...

, commanding general of the Soviet forces in Stalingrad, claimed that the Germans lost more men trying to take Pavlov's House than they did taking Paris.«European Cultural Benefits»
in Russian

Post-war life

The building and its defense went down in history as "

" (''Дом Павлова''). For his actions in Stalingrad, he was awarded the

, the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

, the

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...

, two Orders of the Red Star and numerous other medals. Post-war, he joined the Communist Party. He was elected three times as Deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

Death

Pavlov died on 28 September 1981, most likely due to injuries he received during his military career, and was buried in

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pavlov, Yakov 1917 births 1981 deaths People from Novgorod Oblast Battle of Stalingrad Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Russian people of World War II Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet politicians